Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher of providing me with an e-arc of this novella. My opinions are my own.

Hands up if you knew nothing about the Belladonna series and requested an arc purely for the cover and the vibes.
🙋‍♀️

Hands up again if you thought what in the dystopia were the horses doing there?
🙋‍♀️
I don't know why, but just took me by surprise, namely because I didn't have the background information for the world building.

This had all the ingredients for a YA dystopia. It used hindsight to tell the story, so you knew what ultimately happens, just not how.
I didn't find our protagonist overly compelling.
Nor Maelin. We just weren't given enough information about her to form much of an opinion.

Wick, however. That was a haunted character. His arc as his role breaks him in the academy and his heart hardens. I felt for him, and his fate.

I requested this book without realizing it was a novella for a primary series that I did not read. I still read this book and thought it was good.

If you’re looking for a quick read that will make you laugh and sob your hearts out at the same time- this is the one. All that to say, Maelin was right- Blimmery does indeed know how to say things in a way that makes people listen.

Maelin is a character driven companion novella to a primary series called “Belladonna.” It explored the back story of the character of Maelin and I thought it was really well done! I did read this without reading the primary series- so I am going to read that now!! This world and these characters sound so interesting and fun!

"𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩."

I received a copy of this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maelin is a novella from the Belladona series, told about the life of Maelin Vandros and the truth behind the words stated by the press about her from the perspective of Blimmery Owding who spent the same trainee and duty year as her.

I read this blindly by meaning i haven't read the actual series before this but as the author said in the beginning, that readers won't find it hard to read the main series or the novella without reading the other one. It was seamless and felt like a brief and fast-paced dystopian fantasy novel.

I love the idea of this sort of academy where the government brought some chosen youngster all over the country as candidates to choose the best five as Guardians. It brings some nostalgic where dystopian is a hit genre, but with a little older setting and cozy-fantasy elements.

The character isn't that much so it's easier to proceed this book. Throughout the story, we got to see the characters trauma and internal thought and it was well-told and convincing. We can see the character and their bonds (it's so precious esp Blimmery and Wick, love 'em chaotic duo) develop as they grow from the academy to be a part of what they always dreamed for.

By reading Maelin, i'm curious about what is actually behind the empire and Force's act, what is this secret affair about, what is happening after Blimmery exposed this topic in his writing. (Here's TMI, it turned out that Nightshade Academy was once available on NetGalley and it's unfortunate that i discover it late). But if you guys want a short and thrilling dystopian fantasy read, definitely gotta try this one.

I went into this book knowing that it was a prequel of sorts to the Belladonna series, which I have not read yet, but based on other reviews I was confident that I wouldn't be too confused. Luckily, this was true. I was able to read Maelin with very little confusion, which I appreciated. Piecing how the world worked in this novella was actually quite fun! Overall, reading Maelin was a delightful experience. (Excluding the fact that I knew it was also a tragedy and it did, in fact, hurt my little heart)

From the first few pages of this story, it is made clear that the main character, Blimmery, had something to do with the death of a girl named Maelin and how dangerous it could be for him to be documenting his involvement. The story then jumps into Blimmery's life at Nightshade Academy and the relationships he has with his fellow peers. Blimmery is at the academy to attempt to fix his family's reputation and knows that he must be chosen as one of the final five to become Guardians in order for that to happen. While in school, he forms a close friendship with another student, Wick, and a rivalry with the top student Taig. He also becomes interested in Maelin, Taig's best friend since childhood.

The novella follows these characters in the Nightshade Academy and beyond, spanning about five years in less than 200 pages, and it was quite well done! For large timespans like that I would normally want a story to be about 300-400 pages to cover everything, but the author did a good job of making sure they fit in crucial information without making the storyline seem rushed.

This story was very much a tragic comedy, as it is described. I read this in about an hour and a half and found myself laughing multiple times, but as I mentioned before, it did get pretty upsetting once you hit a certain point in the story. But like, upsetting in a good way. It wouldn't be a tragic comedy if it wasn't.

Anyway, to wrap up this review, I enjoyed this novella! I definitely want to read the first book in the Belladonna Series now and see what Blimmery is like in the future. I highly recommend this novella if you've read the series already, or if you're like me and brand new to the series!
Thank you to Lost Island Press for providing an ARC of Maelin! It was a wonderful read.

4 Stars

Thank you so much for the ARC Lost Island Press and Netgalley.

When I saw that cute cover I instantly asked to read and review this book. The cover is so cute, simple and I really love the artstyle.

I've never read anything from Mel Torrefranca before, so this was my first book from her, but not the last! Sinve I haven't read the first book in the Belladona series I was worried that I would feel somewhat left out or that I missed something through the book. That was not what happened!

The characters in the book are just AMAZING. I love how well written they are, and that they carry the book and the plot so good. The story is so good, it's lik eyou never know whats going to happen after the next page. And the way it's been told is really cool. A book that is written as someone is writing the book, that is so cool!

Thank you so much for the read!

This was an enjoyable read. I loved Maelin and Taig's personalities. Also have a soft spot for Wick.

I like that Maelin is a doctor and how she trains with the team. Well thought out story, I was intrigued with the banned books and what they would uncover.

This book is a good backstory to the characters and I will look out for more from the author soon!

Many thanks to Lost Island Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this story considering that I hadn’t read Nightshade Academy but wow did this make me really want to read it!
Blimmery, Maelin, Taig, Wick and Kanter were just written so brilliantly that in such a short amount of time I adored them and OUCH MY POOR HEART?!? Mel Torrefrance how dare you hurt me this way!!
I loved the tone and storytelling and the fact that the characters were so easy to like and understand. For a reader that knew nothing going in, the story was constructed in a really engaging way and I literally couldn’t put it down I devoured it in one sitting!
All of the characters were so distinct and likeable I really enjoyed getting to know them all!
This has put the Nightshade Academy on my TBR for sure and I can’t wait to read more!

Interesting novella.
It adds such depth and background to the main novel. We now know the story behind what happened to Maelin. Roll on to the next novel !

I must admit I fell into the trap of "A Belladonna novella" and thought of the wrong "Belladonna". Still, the writing is good and I appreciated the worldbuilding though it was difficult to have the story start with animal violence/suffering. I would have that to the list of TWs. However, it's a good book for dark military academy lovers. The author avoided the usual infodump traps and I liked how dialogue gave the story rhythm and life to the characters. And the illustrations were lovely.

Funny story I requested this book without realizing it was a novella for a primary series that I did not in fact read! I didn't want to leave the book hanging though and I did enjoy it, as much as someone who hasn't read the series can!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Maelin' by Mel Torrefranca.

'Maelin' is a novella for the series Belladonna but honestly you don't need to read the series to understand this novel. I wish I could say I enjoyed the story telling more but sadly I didn't. I do think it is worth giving it a go though!

The line “My name is Blimmery Owding, and I dug Maelin's grave.” Is what first drew my attention to this book along with its cover. While I had no prior knowledge of the author or the belladonna book series I enjoyed this novella! Despite being under 200 pages the characters and world building is well rounded. It reads well as a stand-alone but I found myself a little lost at times. Despite some confusion I had a good time reading!:)

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Maelin is a juicy, deliciously written who dun it type thriller. If you like dark academia, Wednesday, stories that give you chills and thrills, you'll love Maelin. It's a race against time story where the main objective is to save a girl from being murdered at their own risk. I mean, this line alone was enough to hook me:“My name is Blimmery Owding, and I dug Maelin's grave.”
After dealing with circumstances that left his family's reputation in ruins, Blimmery Owning joined the Empire's boarding school where he meets Maelin and her awful friend, Taig. Blimmery learns fast all is not as it seems here and embarks on a race against time to save Maelin from death.
I read this book in the span of. a few hours, I just couldn't put it down. It's well written, the action and characters draw you into the world of Nightshade Academy and all the secrets it holds. Find out through Blimmery's own words what follows. You won't want to miss this!

I didn't manage to finish the book.

While brief, I felt like I was missing context during great part of the book, and sadly, I could not care enough for the characters to keep reading. While I understand that this is a novella and part of a series, I don't think it's strong enough to work by itself.

Maybe it would have been better if it had been longer.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I honestly think this story would have worked so much better as a full novel instead of a novella, there was so much happening and not a lot of time. I think that's the reason it resorted a lot more to telling than showing.
Other than that though I genuinely did enjoy the story and characters. I haven't read the rest of the series yet, but I'm sure that once I have a clearer view of the world and it's rules I'll enjoy this book even more.

The prequel story to the Nightshade Academy series about the death of Maelin, a girl who was part of the series beloved boarding school instructor's past. The story follows Blimmery Owding's past at the Empire's military boarding school. Blimmery finds himself wanting to save Maelin, yet it might be impossible with the way she is determined to do what she wants. The events that spiral will lead to devastation. I went into this book without any context of the other series and was hoping that I would like the stories and characters enough to maybe start reading the series. The note in the book is that you could read this as a standalone without having to read the series, yet I found myself kind of lost with the book. I just didn't find myself all that connected to the story and despite it being a short read, it still felt a bit lacking. Overall, it just felt like a bit of a miss to me, however, I do think those who have read the series will definitely enjoy this one.

*Thanks Netgalley and Lost Island Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I picked this one based solely on the cover, and didn't realize until I started it that it was part of a larger world. It's such an interesting story that I feel like now I need to go back and read the books that it's connected to.